Sunday, May 06, 2007
 
DINNER AND A MOVIE
As I said in my last post, even though I have Netflix I'll still be going out to the movies with "the girls."



Last night we got together to see "Black Book" which takes place in the fall of 1944, a thriller about the Dutch underground. It kept me on the edge of my seat for two hours and 25 minutes. The film is a melodrama with lots of suspense with unexpected twists and turns. One shocker after another in this movie. I usually don't care for a movie with so much violence but this was so well done I just got caught up in the storyline.

Enough about the movie, now I want to tell you about our experience at the restaurant. which is located near the movie theatre. It's a place that we eat at frequently and the food is always good. This was my first time visiting this restaurant since I came back from Florida.

My friend and I ordered one of our favorite dishes that we have had many times in the past - Grilled salmon with bourbon sauce. When the waitress placed the dish in front of me, it just didn't look right - the fish looked overdone and when I took my first taste, it was dry and bitter.

I got the attention of the waitress, told her about the problem. She asked me if she could get me something else, I said I would like the baked haddock - she said that would take some time to prepare, "was there something else she could get me." I decided I would try the salmon again since my friend wasn't complaining about it.


Dorky Salmon by Denn.

Well, to make a long story short, the dish was just as bad as the first serving.

At that point in time the manager came over and asked me if everything was all right. I explained to her that I have had that dish many times before and it was always delicious. Well, she apologized and thanked me for informing her about the poor quality of the dinner.

THEN, she told me that the restaurant had just switched suppliers and was now getting their fish through a company that delivered the product via CRYOPAK. I assume that means "frozen." By this time my friend said her fish was dry too. The manager asked if we would like dessert and told us we would not be charged for the dinners. At that point I had lost my appetite and was happy to just have a cup of coffee.

I'm glad that I spoke up about the fish, sorry I didn't stick to my guns about having a different dish.

If or when I go back to that restaurant I will be sure to ask if the fish is "fresh."


Comments:
Fish from Cryopak? It doesn't sound too appetising, does it? I'm glad you spoke up.

If people don't speak up, how will they know there is a problem? I'm glad you said something. Maybe they'll change back to their old supplier. I bet you don't have fish there for a while.
 
I never have the guts to speak up. The few times I have, nothing came of it but poor service. I think it comes from being young, yet.
 
You did the right thing by speaking up, Millie. However would they know if you didn't? Unless 10 others complained and they didn't care. Cryopak is almost certainly frozen. Uck.
 
Salmon is available in abundance these days...no reason for it to be 'stale' or even frozen. The fact that it was frozen does not account for the bitter, dry taste you encountered. There was something DEFINATELY wrong with the process used, though.
 
There is nothing worse than dried up salmon, because that happpens to me if I try to fix it at home. Any good tips for that, Milly?
 
I'm so sorry your taste buds were disappointed! There's nothing worse that having a taste for something special, and then it not being up to par. Sounds like everything worked out just fine though.
Glad you're back in the groove and enjoying your outings with the girls once more.
(I'm still making your Apple Crisp for my husband. It's his favorite!)
 
The problem shouldn't really be that the fish is frozen. Almost all fish is frozen at sea these days as soon as it's caught. In fact, last night I broiled salmon that had been frozen at sea and it was moist and delicious.

Maybe you should ask if they've hired a new chef :-)
 
Millie ~ thank you so for sharing your movie adventure here! I will have to check this out for sure. I love thrillers and suspense; like you, I'm not such a fan of blood and guts, so to speak, but if the story line is awesome, I can usually deal with some of the other.
 
Well done Millie. I found "everyday" eating utterly first class when I was in the USA, which is not the case over here. It's straight from deep freeze to deep fat fryer in many places.

KP
 
sweet irene
One way to insure not having a dry piece of fish is not to bake it too long. If the fish is not too thick, 10 minutes at a 400 degree oven should be fine.

Just a little melted butter mixed with lemon juice and whatever seasoning you like should do it. I like lemon pepper and a dash of dill on my fish.

Sometimes I top the fish with a little baste and glaze sauce, that works well too.

Enjoy!
 
Millie

I am sorry you had a bad restaurant experience but I am glad you spoke up.

Recently my husband and I had a sub par experience at a Houston's near us. The service there is usually good ( and we went real early to avoid the crowd) but this night it was horrible. His cocktail was not right. We sent it back then waited and waited and finally got another. Then we waited and waited on our food and when it finally arrived, after we spoke to our server, the food was cold.

We sent it back. Who wants to eat a cold baked potato and a "cold" hot roast beef sandwich.

My hubby wanted to leave and forget the meal even after the manager came over and apologized and offered to take the dinner off the bill but I said no, we will stay and eat.

Anyway, I decided a long time ago to speak up in restaurants.
 
This is great blog!! Recently my friend bought a Moonstruck Chocolate "Valentine Heart Dark Collection" at just $30 from Macys store.!!
 
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